A Massachusetts jury found Karen Read not guilty in her murder retrial at the Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham Wednesday.
NBC News reports that the Norfolk County jury acquitted Read of second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter while driving under the influence and leaving the scene of a collision that caused the 2022 death of her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe.
Read was convicted on a lesser charge of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor.
It took the jury four days to reach the verdict, which followed her 2024 trial that ended in a hung jury.
“No one has fought harder for justice for John O’Keefe than I have,” Read said outside the courthouse, to a gathering of supporters, AP News reports.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Read, a 45-year-old former adjunct professor, pleaded not guilty in connection with O’Keefe’s death. Prosecutors accused Read of hitting O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV during a snowstorm on January 29, 2022, at a house party in Canton, Massachusetts, hosted by now-retired police officer, Brian Albert.
The prosecution alleged that Read had dropped O’Keefe off at the home before she struck him with her vehicle and fled the scene.
The defense argued that O’Keefe was beaten up at Albert’s residence, attacked by a German Shepherd named Chloe who lived at the home, and then left outside during a blizzard.
The defense challenged the prosecution’s circumstantial evidence, focusing mainly on expert testimony. An accident reconstructionist said that damage to Read’s SUV and injuries to O’Keefe’s arm did not match a vehicle striking him. A pathologist testified that O’Keefe’s arm wounds appeared consistent with dog bites.
Several people connected to the case released a statement Wednesday, voicing sympathy for O’Keefe and his family. The statement signers included Jennifer McCabe, who was with Read and O’Keefe the night he died, as well as Brian Albert.
“While we may have more to say in the future, today we mourn with John’s family and lament the cruel reality that this prosecution was infected by lies and conspiracy theories spread by Karen Read, her defense team, and some in the media. The result is a devastating miscarriage of justice,” the statement said.
The story is developing. Check back dor updates.
[Feature photo: Defendant Karen Read listens to her lawyer Alan Jackson question witness Massachusetts State trooper Michael Proctor during her, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in Norf]
